Prince William and his eldest cousin, Peter PhillipsThey grew up together.
“We had a lot of fun growing up and staying with each other during our holidays [Queen Elizabeth II] at Sandringham, Balmoral and Windsor and we were incredibly lucky to be able to share a lot of our childhood with her,” Peter said during an appearance in 2016 Good morning Britain. “We had a lot of fun and there was plenty of space for children to run around, and it wasn’t just us, but the Waleses too [William and Harry]Freddie and Ella Windsor and the Gloucesters.”
Peter added: “So we were quite a lot of people growing up at that age and it was a lot of fun. We caused quite a bit of mayhem and mayhem, but luckily I don’t think we broke too much.”
William and Peter are the two eldest grandchildren of the late Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip. Peter, the son of Princess Anne and ex-husband Captain Mark Phillipswas born in November 1977. Five years later, William was born King Charles III and deceased ex-wife Princess Diana. (Peter’s sister, Zara Tindallarrived a year before William.)
Many of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip’s grandchildren grew up together. The late regent’s only daughter, Princess Anne, was the first queen to increase her offspring. The Royal Princess and her then-husband Captain Mark Phillips welcomed their son Peter Phillips in November 1977 and their daughter Zara Tindall in May 1981. Less than a year after Zara […]
As William and Peter grew up, they remained close. They even walked side by side alongside the Prince of Wales’s brother, Prince Harry, in the respective funeral processions for Elizabeth and Philip.
Keep scrolling to recap William and Peter’s relationship over the years:
June 1982
William was the late Queen’s third grandchild, after Peter and Zara. The trio had since seen each other frequently at royal occasions, including the annual Trooping the Color celebrations, Christmas morning walks on the Sandringham Estate and family outings.
July 1986
Peter and William were both pages at their uncle’s wedding Prince Andrew and his current ex Sarah Ferguson.
April 2005
Although he had once disapproved of Charles’ relationship with him Queen Camilla, William and his brother went to Windsor Guildhall for their wedding. The siblings were seen arriving alongside Peter and Zara.
In the years that followed, William and Peter continued to appear together at official appearances.
April 2021
Philip died in April at the age of 99. Instead of holding a large state funeral like most late monarchs and their consorts, Philip opted for an intimate service at St. George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle. His four children Charles, Anne, Andrew and Prince Edward, marched into the chapel behind his coffin. They were joined by William, Peter and Harry, with Peter standing between his cousins.
The royal line of succession has been shaken up and shifted – but where do members of the British royal family stand when it comes to their place in the line of succession? Queen Elizabeth II had been Head of the Commonwealth since 1952 when she died in September 2022 at the age of 20 […]
September 2022
Elizabeth died a year later at the age of 96. Before her state funeral at Westminster Abbey, all of her grandchildren – William, Harry, Peter, Zara, Princess Beatrice, Princess Eugenie, Lady Louise Windsor And James, Earl of Wessex – held a solemn vigil around her coffin as it lay in state at Westminster Hall.
Her Majesty’s coffin was transferred to Westminster Abbey ahead of a memorial service on September 19. Peter, flanked by William and Harry, joined the procession on foot.
March 2024
Peter raved about William’s marriage Princess Kate Middleton after her cancer diagnosis.
“She and William make a fantastic team together,” he said Sky News Australia. “Their kids are amazing and they’re balancing public life and trying to be parents to three young children, which is always difficult.”
Peter added: “I think as history has taught us and everyone knows, you actually want to be there for your children when they reach a certain age. You want to be able to drop them off and pick them up from school, watch games and be part of their school life. And I think that, on the whole, I think they’ve succeeded in balancing family life and public life.”
William and Kate share sons Prince George and Prince Louis and daughter Princess Charlotte. For his part, Peter and his ex-wife are parents to daughters Savannah and Isla Autumn Kelly.
April 2024
Weeks later, royal sources reported The Telegraph that Peter is more of a brother to William than just a cousin. An insider is quoted as saying: “He’s always been a bit of an older brother to William, even more so since Harry moved to America.”
Harry moved across the pond with his wife Meghan Markle in 2020 after stepping down from their positions as senior working royals. The resignation came amid a feud with William, and Harry had claimed his older brother had spread unkind stories about Meghan in the press. William, for his part, never addressed the claims.